A Frozen Ballad
by Parsat
Summary: In Arendelle's fair kingdom, a ruler did appear/Born with a secret power so great, alone she stayed in fear/Although the force was hidden, one day she let it go/And all the land was covered in eternal ice and snow. The tale of Elsa and Anna in the form of a traditional ballad.
1. Vuelie

**Poet's Note:**** I was inspired by the poetry in the "Elsa" trailer to give a fuller rendition of the account of Anna and Elsa in the form they used, which was ballad meter. The chapter titles come from the soundtrack song titles. Hope you enjoy; feel free to review at your leisure.**

* * *

There is a land up in the north  
Where northern lights do glow,  
Their luminescence brilliant  
Upon the ice and snow.  
Fair Arendelle, the kingdom of  
The mountain and the fjord,  
Holds beauty that cannot be tamed  
By guile or by sword.

Here heroes dwelt, and ruled the land,  
Their songs we still do sing,  
And sung the most among this host,  
Is Elsa, icy queen.  
Her reign was then unparalleled  
In might and grace and peace,  
And still her legacy has shown  
No signs that it should cease.

No song of Elsa would be true  
Without her sister there,  
Anna, younger by three years,  
But every bit as fair.  
One red of hair, one snowy white,  
Like fire meeting frost,  
They loved each other deep and true,  
No matter what the cost.

Of Elsa and of Anna many  
Stories we could tell,  
But we shall sing a summer song  
Of how the winter fell.  
A song of love that conquers all,  
Of hopes and bygone years,  
Our story starts one summer morn,  
When joy dissolved to tears.


	2. Elsa and Anna

The sun awoke in Arendelle  
And shed a golden ray  
Into the room where Anna and  
Her sister Elsa lay.  
A child of the dawn indeed,  
Sweet Anna was awake.  
She clambered on her sister's bed  
And gave her quite a shake.

"The sun's awake, so I am too!  
It's time for us to play!"  
But Elsa shoved her off the bed  
And told her, "Go away!"  
But one thing always got her out  
Of bed, in Anna's plan:  
"Oh Elsa, would you like to build  
A wonderful snowman?"

They tiptoed to the ballroom, both  
With stifled giggling.  
"Do the magic," Anna cheered  
With eyes a-twinkling.  
What magic could have made her sister  
Clap her hands with glee?  
What power did young Elsa have  
That Anna sought to see?

She swirled her hands, and in her palms  
A snowball there she shaped.  
And when she tossed it in the air,  
The room with snow was draped.  
Then Elsa stomped her foot upon  
The ballroom's frigid floor  
And froze it solid, all the way  
From one end to the door.

And how they played! They built the snowman  
Anna wanted so:  
His name was Olaf, lover of  
Warm hugs against his snow.  
They ran and frolicked, slipped and jumped  
As fluffy snowbanks rose.  
They skated on this makeshift rink  
Amidst the icy floes.

As Anna leapt from mound to mound  
Conjured beneath her tread,  
Poor Elsa slipped, and sent a wayward  
Blast to Anna's head.  
With a sickening sound, she hit the ground,  
And lay so very still.  
A single lock of vivid hair  
Then whitened in a chill.

The terror that gripped Elsa, she  
Had never felt before.  
She cradled in her arms her sister's  
Body on the floor,  
And let a cry that echoed down  
The castle's stony hall.  
'Twas then that she was prisoner  
To fear's dark, frozen thrall.


	3. The Trolls

In ancient runes, the legends tell  
Of strangest creatures, trolls,  
Whose healing power stems from all  
The magic they control.  
And so the royal family  
Took Anna, limp and cold,  
On horseback to the valley where  
Trolls live, as they were told.

They say the horse's path was trailed  
By signs of Elsa's grief,  
A line of hoary frost behind  
Had caked on rock and leaf.  
By nightfall they had reached the vale,  
But nothing was in sight,  
Just mossy rocks so strangely round  
That littered all the site.

But hark! A rumbling of the earth,  
And all the rocks revealed  
That they had eyes and ears and noses  
On the family peeled.  
The oldest and the craggiest  
Came forth with worried gaze,  
And placed a hand on Anna's head,  
Who still lay in a daze.

"Fortunate, indeed we are,  
It did not hit her heart.  
The mind's a fool, it can be tricked,  
Its workings picked apart.  
When she awakes, her memories  
Of magic will not stay,  
But worry not, I'll leave behind  
The wintry fun and play.

"And you, my child, must decide,  
For better or for worse,  
To see your power as a gift,  
Or harder still, a curse.  
And should you be consumed with fear,  
Dear Elsa, then beware:  
For then will rise your sad demise  
In deep and dark despair."

"We'll keep her feelings under check,"  
The King then interjected.  
"We'll hide her powers inward so  
She'll stay calm and collected."  
His family then mounted off  
All trembling in fear,  
And from young Elsa's downcast eyes,  
She shed a single tear.


	4. Snowmen Left Unbuilt

From that day on, the princesses  
Were worlds apart by doors.  
They longed for happy times that could  
Not happen anymore.  
For thirteen years, the younger sister's  
Knock was left ignored,  
And building snowmen, when she asked,  
No longer struck a chord.

For while the halls where Anna roamed  
Were warm and sunshine lit,  
The chamber Elsa paced in was  
Her cage, its walls frostbit.  
Her powers waxed year after year,  
But yet, waned her control,  
The worry and the anguish burrowed  
Deep into her soul.

The gloves she wore were only good  
For shackling her mind;  
Her parents calmly talked, but she  
Could not respond in kind.  
"Conceal, don't feel, don't let it show,"  
The mantra she'd repeat,  
But in her heart she knew this was  
Impossible, this feat.

The King and Queen, they sadly passed  
Upon a stormy sea  
And left two daughters on their own,  
A land to oversee,  
And broken hearts and memories.

What will you bring, O cruelest fate,  
To thaw these frozen hearts innate  
Before the time grows much too late?


	5. The First Time In Forever

**The First Time in Forever**

Three years had passed, and all the world  
Was sailing on its way  
To Arendelle, for Elsa was  
To bear the crown that day.  
How towering the stately masts  
And billowing the sails!  
How joyful were the people's songs  
Sung over hills and dales!

The castle gates, which once were closed  
For thirteen weary years,  
Now opened, and the eager throng  
Streamed in with loudest cheers.  
And yet, against the tide, a maiden  
Hastened out the door,  
The first time in forever she  
Could go out and explore.

Sweet Anna, with her rosy cheeks  
And eyes aglow with glee,  
Was singing, dancing in the town,  
For she had been set free.  
Now as she sauntered up and down  
The dockyards and the streets,  
She crashed into a foreign horse,  
And swept right off her feet.

The rider was Prince Hans, who hailed  
From Southern Isles' shores,  
A handsome face that hid a heart  
With malice in its core.  
But Anna, captivated by  
His warmth and princely charm,  
Returned to Elsa with no clue  
Of near-impending harm.


	6. Coronation Day

A coronation grander none  
Had witnessed till that day,  
As Heimr Arnadalr rang  
Out from the church's bay.  
The queen, with blue gown and a cape  
Of regal purple, stood  
As prayers from the bishop blessed  
Her reign with every good:

"Eternal God and Lord of Hosts  
Who gives grace to the uttermost,  
Now bless this land of Arendelle  
And all who in this realm dwell.  
Grant wisdom, grace, and favor to  
Queen Elsa, for your will to do.  
Though mighty be the storms of strife,  
Preserve our Queen through all her life!"

And with this benediction's end,  
The bishop took the crown  
And placed it on Queen Elsa's head  
In humbleness bowed down.  
He offered next the orb and scepter,  
Symbols of her rule,  
And in her eyes he thought he saw  
A look that had him fooled.

Twas not the gleam of triumph there,  
No bravery appeared,  
Instead, her eyes belied that they  
Had seen just what she feared.  
Her gloves were on. He coughed but once,  
And made his message clear:  
That she must touch with her own hands  
The pride of her career.

But merciful he was, since he had seen  
Queen Elsa thusly waver.  
In ages past, a ruler new  
Would like this time to savor.  
He made his Old Norse message quick,  
Proclaiming the new Queen.  
And when she placed the orb and scepter  
Back where they had been,  
The bishop could have sworn he'd seen  
Them coated with an icy sheen.


	7. Love is an Open Door

That night, the doors stayed open for  
The coronation ball,  
With all the guests assembled in  
The vast, majestic hall.  
And oh, what fun!  
The party was  
A truly grand affair,  
As waltzes, warmth, and chocolate  
Helped out the festive air.

There Anna sought the prince whom she  
Had bumped into that day,  
That she might take him through the town  
To dance and laugh and play.  
While in her search,  
she tripped again  
And fell into his arms.  
"I'm glad I caught you," said Prince Hans  
With all his clever charms.

They danced and cavorted through all of the night  
Where a full moon was shining so hopeful and bright.  
They mimed with the figures beneath the great clock  
And waltzed from the lighthouse back down to the dock;  
From sliding and skating with socks on the floor,  
To balconies, rooftops, and more to explore,  
Their passion birthed freedom and opened a door  
To a life they could not have envisioned before.

As midnight approached and the shooting stars fell  
In this midsummer's night like a magical spell,  
Prince Hans took her hand, and right there on the fjord,  
Went down on one knee and proposed. She was floored.  
So taken was she by this man's charm and grace,  
She missed the masked malice he hid in his face.  
She swiftly agreed to be wife to this man,  
And his eyes showed that all was according to plan.


End file.
